Technology platform for electronic commerce and a method thereof

ABSTRACT

A method and technology platform for electronic commerce use a software package including an interactive website. An Affiliate may access participating vendors and third-party sources to acquire information of interest, including product data, content, and website design templates.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/867,909 filed Jun. 15, 2004, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

I. Field

The present invention generally relates to electronic commerce and, more particularly, to technology platforms and methods for developing websites of vendor affiliates selling online vendor products to general public.

II. Background

Over the past several years, electronic commerce over the Internet experiences rapid growth and online shopping has become a routine method used by consumers for purchasing products, such as goods or services. One method of online shopping uses a “stocking Vendor/non-stocking Affiliate” scheme. This scheme allows to a non-stocking Affiliate of a participating Vendor to establish a “virtual” mail-order shop for selling vendor products over the Internet.

To operate the online mail-order shop, the Affiliate needs to create, maintain, and periodically update an Affiliate Website that contains information pertaining to vendor products and facilitates execution of online sales. One method for developing the Affiliate Website is disclosed in the referred to above U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/867,909.

However, despite the considerable effort in the art devoted to development of methods for online shopping, further improvements in technology platforms and methods of electronic commerce would be desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention provides a method of electronic commerce using an electronic commerce software package including an interactive Platform Website and computer programs facilitating design of an Affiliate Website adapted for acquiring information of interest (for example, product related data or content, and the like). The software package is stored on a Platform Server connected to a server of a network accessible by a computer of the Affiliate and enables acquiring of the information from the Vendor Website or online third-party sources.

Another aspect of the present invention is a technology platform for electronic commerce utilizing the inventive method.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for developing a website of an Affiliate selling online vendor products using information acquired from the Vendor Website or online third-party sources.

The Summary is neither intended nor should it be construed as being representative of the full extent and scope of the present invention, which these and additional aspects will become more readily apparent from the detailed description, particularly when taken together with the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high-level, schematic diagram of an exemplary computer system including a technology platform for electronic commerce in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a high-level, schematic diagram of an exemplary software stack of the electronic commerce software package of the technology platform of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of electronic commerce using the technology platform of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary Main Manu of a Platform Website of the technology platform of FIG. 1.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures, except that suffixes may be added, when appropriate, to differentiate such elements. The images in the drawings are conventionally simplified for illustrative purposes and are not depicted to scale.

The appended drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and, as such, should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention that may admit to other equally effective embodiments. It is contemplated that features or steps of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to a technology platform and method for electronic commerce, or e-commerce, which use an electronic commerce software package (ECSP) developed by the Inventors. The ECSP is based on graphical user interface (GUI) and allows to an Affiliate of a participating Vendor (e.g., Amazon.com, ART.com, and the like) to operate a virtual mail-order shop selling online, on a commission basis, products of the Vendor.

FIG. 1 is a high-level, schematic diagram of an exemplary computer system 100 including the inventive technology platform for electronic commerce. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system 100 includes a Platform Server 110 and a network 130 (for example, the Internet) having a plurality of network servers 140 (network servers 140A-140D are shown). The network servers 140 are selectively connected to the Platform Server 110 (network server 140D) and interconnect computers 150 of Affiliates and computers of third-party online sources 160 (third-party sources 160A-160D are shown) of information of interest to the Affiliates. Together, the Platform Server 110 and the network 130 form the technology platform for electronic commerce of the present invention.

The Platform Server 110 generally includes a memory 112, a processor 114, and input/output (I/O) systems 116 and hosts an ECSP 120 of the present invention. The ECSP 120 may reside on the Platform Server 110 in a form of a transferable computer-readable medium (for example, data compact disk, flush memory drive, and the like) containing the ECSP 120 or be saved from such medium or downloaded from an external source (both not shown) in the memory 112. In operation, the ECSP 120 may be executed by the processor 114 from the computer-readable medium or, alternatively, the memory 112.

The ECSP 120 is based on GUI and organized in a multi-tier software stack. In particular, the ECSP 120 includes an interactive Platform Website 122 and computer programs that, together, enable design of an Affiliate Website adapted for acquiring information related to vendor products offered for sale by an Affiliate. Within the ECSP 120, these computer programs are configured as stand-alone software modules forming three functional tiers: (i) a Presentation Tier 124 operating as an intuitive interactive user interface, (ii) a Logic Tier 126 performing processing of user commands, and (iii) a Data Tier 128 facilitating storage and retrieval of an Affiliate-accessible portion of information available on the Platform Website 122.

The ECSP 120 provides users with a complete automated and intuitively operable system for developing or updating customized Affiliate Websites for facilitating commission-earning online sales of products of one or more participating Vendors. No programming skills are required from a user (i.e., the Affiliate) to utilize capabilities or features of the ECSP 120.

FIG. 2 is a high-level, schematic diagram of an exemplary software stack of the ECSP 120. A user activates features of the ECSP 120 by accessing the interactive Platform Website 122, selecting (for example, from a drop-down menu) a participating Vendor, and logging on the Vendor Website from the Platform Website 122. Access to the Platform Website 122 or the Vendor Website may require execution of a user-identification routine and confirmation of user privileges and the scope thereof (for example, in a form of validating unique user identification codes obtained from Administrator of the Platform Website 122 or the respective participating Vendor).

In operation, the software modules of the ECSP 120 interactively communicate to and supplement one another and, together, form an integrated software platform. In alternate embodiments, the software stack of the ECSP 120 may be configured in a manner that at least some of the depicted herein modules or portions thereof form one or more specialized software modules.

Using GUI-based tools embedded in the Platform Website 122, the user can develop or update the Affiliate Website, as well as acquire information of interest from Vendor or the third-party sources 160. In particular, following step-by-step instructions, the user can locate, review, transfer to the user's computer, and edit thereon website template designs, product data, and content, among other information available on the Vendor Websites, from the third-party sources 160, or elsewhere on the network 130.

The Presentation Tier 124 includes the following software modules: Keyword Initiator 222, Search n Assign 224, Content Selector 226, Products Selector 228, Templates Selector (or Templates Grabber) 230, Global Features 232, and Website Content and e-Commerce Platform (WCEP) 234.

The Keyword Initiator 222 enables the user to conduct keyword-based online searches of the information of interest on the Vendor Website, as well as from the third-party sources 160. The Keyword Initiator 222 allows the user to enter keywords and form and save lists of the keywords. The Search n Assign 224 narrows such searches to data related to vendor products, while the Content Selector 226 narrows the searches to the content associated with the keywords. Accordingly, the Product Selector 228 narrows the searches to the data and content related to the vendor products that are currently sold by the Affiliate or selected for future sales. The Templates Selector 230, operating a template wizard, enables the user to choose, customize, and download website template designs from the Vendor Website or the third-party sources 160.

Using the Global Features 230, the user can automate a process of creating or updating the Affiliate Website. In broader terms, the Global Features 230 perform in an automatic manner the functions, which otherwise, using the modules 224, 226, 228, and 230, are available to the user in a manual or semi-manual mode. For example, the user can perform product data and content searches and selection, de-selection, validation, or updates of the information of interest for the entire list of pre-determined keywords instead of entering each of the keywords manually. The acquired information may automatically be processed for updating the current Affiliate Website, as well as for concurrently developing a new Affiliate Website employing a user-selected website template design.

The WCEP 234 is a software layer that, in operation, facilitates and supports user interactions with the ECSP 120. In particular, the WCEP 234 is responsible for enabling the Platform Website 122 and for receiving, recognizing, and routing of user commands within the ECSP 120.

The Logic Tier 126 includes Content Management System (or Content Grabber) 242, e-Commerce Management System (EMS) 244, Content Generator 250, Web Content Plug-in 252, Products Generator 254, and Vendor Plug-in 256 software modules. Both the Content Management System 242 and Products Generator 254 are adapted for acquiring data stored in multiple data formats.

The Content Management System 242 is used to select, retrieve, save, or edit the content of interest featured on the Vendor Website or available from the third-party sources 160.

The EMS 244 generally controls an electronic bookkeeping portion of the ECSP 120 and includes Affil Shops 246 and My Shop 246 modules. The Affil Shops module 246 enables the user to input the vendor products on the Affiliate Website. Accordingly, the My Shop module 248 enables the user to input on the Affiliate Website products other then the vendor products or products of other vendors. For products offered for sale on the Affiliate Website, the EMS 244 facilitates acceptance of different forms of payment, including credit card payments, charge card payments, and the like.

The Content Generator 250 allows the user to search and acquire online the content of interest from the third-party sources 160, and the Web Content Plug-in 252 is a tool used to acquire the content from a specific source (e.g., Wikepedia.org, online trade catalogs, and the like). Such operations may be commission-free content downloads, as well as commission-earning (i.e., for a fee) transactions.

The Products Generator 254 is a computer program disclosed in the referred to above U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/867,909. The Products Generator 254 provides users with an automated solution for acquiring information relating to commission earning products from websites of the participating Vendors and creating or updating the Affiliate Website. The Vendor Plug-in 256 is a software tool that constrains capabilities of the Products Generator 254 to utilization of products and services offered by a specific vendor (e.g., Amazon.com)

In further embodiments, the Products Generator 254, within a single stand-alone software package, may incorporate functions and features of at least one of the Content Generator 250, Web Content Plug-in 252, Vendor Plug-in 256, and Templates Selector 230. Specifically, in this embodiment, the Products Generator 254 may perform (i) transferring to the computer of the Affiliate at least one of the vendor website template designs, vendor product data, or vendor content, (ii) transferring from the sources 160 to the computer of the Affiliate at least one of the third-party website template designs, third-party product information, or third-party content, and (iii) developing, updating, or editing the Affiliate Website utilizing the transferred data.

In further embodiments, the Logic Tier 126 may also include a plurality of specific features (i.e., software tools) intended to assist the Affiliate in development, maintenance, or enhancement of the Affiliate Website. In operation, such specific features increase application range, scalability, and ease of use of the ECSP 120 for creating Affiliate Websites having different levels of complexity. Examples of applicable software tools include an animation tool for providing enhanced presentation of the products, their functions, or product related content, and a time/date tool for time-stamping the product data, terms of sale, or the content (e.g., product availability, expiration dates, sale/rebate dates, and the like). Utilization of these and other corresponding software tools has been contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

The Data Tier 128 generally includes a Database 262 and an Operating System 264 supporting the ECSP 120. The Database 262 contains the computer programs of the ECSP 120 and information available via the Platform Website 122. In one embodiment, the Database 262 facilitates storage and retrieval of data using at least one of the Relational Database Management System based on Structured Query Language (MySQL), Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC), Real Simple Syndication (RSS), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) data formats, and the Operating System 264 is the Linux-based Kernel operating system.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 300 of electronic commerce using the technology platform of FIG. 1 in one embodiment of the present invention.

In particular, FIG. 3 depicts a sequence of method steps performed to facilitate development of the Affiliate Website. In some embodiments, the method steps are performed in the depicted order. In alternate embodiments, at least two of these steps or portions thereof may be performed contemporaneously or in a different order. To best understand the invention, the reader should simultaneously refer to FIG. 3 and FIGS. 1-2.

The method 300 starts at step 301 and proceeds to step 310. At step 310, the ECSP 120 including an interactive Platform Website 122 and computer programs facilitating design of the Affiliate Website is developed. At step 320, the ECSP 120 is installed on the Platform Server 110 connected to the network server 140. At step 330, an Affiliate obtains access to the Platform Website 122, selects a Vendor from a list of the participating vendors, and obtains access to the Vendor Website, as well as to online resources available from the third-party sources 160. To log on the Vendor Website, the Affiliate may need to present a valid vendor-assigned software key.

At step 340, the Affiliate creates or updates the Affiliate Website using the tools accessible from the Platform Website 122. An exemplary Main Manu of the Platform Website 122 is depicted in FIG. 4. In particular, as discussed above in reference to FIG. 2, the Affiliate may use the respective software modules of the Presentation Tier 124 to enter specific commands or requests, which are then processed by the modules of the Logic Tier 126.

When the user inputs relate to the information provided on the Vendor Website, the corresponding data (e.g., product data, content, or website template design) may in real time be acquired from the Vendor Website and downloaded to the computer of the Affiliate, otherwise the information of interest may similarly be obtained from the third-party sources 160 or, contemporaneously, from both the Vendor Website and sources 160.

In particular, after accessing via the Platform Website 122 resources of the Vendor Website, online third-party sources 160 or both, the Affiliate may utilize, among other discussed above capabilities of the ECSP 120, one or more of the following features: entering keywords, forming lists of keywords, retrieving product data or a content relating to the keywords, acquiring at least a portion of the product data and the content, acquiring website design templates for the Affiliate Website, and automating a process of developing, editing, or updating the Affiliate Website. At step 350, upon completion of step 340, the method 300 ends.

In exemplary embodiments, the method 300 may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof in a form of a computer program product comprising one or more computer-executable instructions. When implemented in software, the computer program product may be stored on or transmitted using a computer-readable medium, which includes computer storage medium and computer communication medium.

The term “computer storage medium” refers herein to any medium adapted for storing the instructions that cause the computer to execute the method. By way of example, and not limitation, the computer storage medium may comprise solid-sate memory devices, including electronic memory devices (e.g., RAM, ROM, EEPROM, and the like), optical memory devices (e.g., compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (DVD), and the like), or magnetic memory devices (e.g., hard drives, flash drives, tape drives, and the like), or other memory devices adapted to store the computer program product, or a combination of such memory devices.

The term “computer communication medium” refers herein to any physical interface adapted to transmit the computer program product from one place to another using for example, a modulated carrier wave, an optical signal, a DC or AC current, and the like means. By way of example, and not limitation, the computer communication medium may comprise twisted wire pairs, printed or flat cables, coaxial cables, fiber-optic cables, digital subscriber lines (DSL), or other wired, wireless, or optical serial or parallel interfaces, or a combination thereof.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A method of electronic commerce, comprising: (a) developing an electronic commerce software package including computer programs facilitating an interactive Platform Website and creating an Affiliate Website adapted for acquiring information related to vendor products and for selling online the vendor products; (b) storing the software package on a Platform Server coupled to a server of a network accessible by a computer of an Affiliate; (c) facilitating access to a Vendor Website and third-party sources of the information from the computer of the Affiliate; and (d) utilizing resources of the software package to develop, edit, or update the Affiliate Website.
 2. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the information related to vendor products includes product data or a product related content.
 3. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the third-party sources are online public sources of information or online commercial sources of information.
 4. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (a) further comprises: forming from a portion of the software package a Presentation Tier operating as an interactive user interface and facilitating at least one of: entering keywords; forming lists of keywords; retrieving product data relating to the keywords; retrieving a content relating to the keywords; acquiring at least a portion of the product data and the content; providing website design templates for the Affiliate Website; and automating a process of developing, editing, or updating the Affiliate Website.
 5. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 4; further comprising: automating a process of editing or updating the information related to vendor products or a design template of the Affiliate Website.
 6. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (a) further comprises: forming from a portion of the software package a Logic Tier performing processing of user commands and facilitating at least one of: recognizing the user commands; executing the user commands; editing user retrieved information; and transferring the user retrieved information to the computer of the Affiliate.
 7. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (a) further comprises: forming from a portion of the software package a Data Tier facilitating storage and retrieval of the computer programs and the information using at least one of the Relational Database Management System based on Structured Query Language (MySQL), Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC), Real Simple Syndication (RSS), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) data formats.
 8. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (c) further comprises: providing the Affiliate with at least one software key for accessing the resources of the software package.
 9. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (d) further comprises: allowing a user to use the software package for developing the Affiliate Website manually or automatically.
 10. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (d) further comprises: adapting the Affiliate Website for selling online products of other vendors.
 11. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (d) further comprises: accessing the Platform Website; accessing the Vendor Website; and transferring to the computer of the Affiliate via the Vendor Website at least one of vendor website template designs, the information related to vendor products, or a vendor content.
 12. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 11; further comprising: allowing the user to use the software package to edit or update the at least one of vendor website template designs, the information related to vendor products, or a vendor content.
 13. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the step (d) further comprises: accessing the Platform Website; and transferring from the third-party sources to the computer of the Affiliate via the Platform Website at least one of third-party website template designs or a third-party content.
 14. The method of electronic commerce according to claim 13; further comprising: allowing the user to use the software package to edit or update the at least one of third-party website template designs or a third-party content.
 15. The method of electronic commerce electronic commerce according to claim 1; wherein the software package includes a computer program facilitating: accessing the Platform Website; exercising authorized access to the Vendor Website; transferring to the computer of the Affiliate via the Vendor Website at least one of vendor website template designs, the information related to vendor products, or a vendor content; and transferring from the third-party sources to the computer of the Affiliate via the Platform Website at least one of third-party website template designs or a third-party content.
 16. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to execute the method of claim
 1. 17. A technology platform for electronic commerce, comprising: a network including at least one network server accessible by computers of an Affiliate, third-party sources of information, and general public; and a Platform Server containing an electronic commerce software package including computer programs facilitating an interactive Platform Website and creating an Affiliate Website adapted for acquiring information related to vendor products and for selling online the vendor products, the Platform Server being accessible by the least one network server.
 18. The technology platform for electronic commerce according to claim 17; wherein the software package is stored in a memory of the Platform Server or on a transferable computer-readable medium residing on the Platform Server.
 19. The technology platform for electronic commerce according to claim 17; wherein: a first portion of the software package forms a Presentation Tier operating as an interactive user interface; a second portion of the software package forms a Logic Tier performing processing of user commands; and a third portion of the software package forms a Data Tier facilitating storage and retrieval of the computer programs and data.
 20. The technology platform for electronic commerce according to claim 19; wherein the Presentation Tier includes software modules allowing the Affiliate: to enter keywords; to form lists of keywords; to retrieve product data relating to the keywords; to retrieve a content relating to the keywords; to acquire at least a portion of the product data and the content; to acquire website design templates for the Affiliate Website; or to automate a process of developing, editing, or updating the Affiliate Website.
 21. The technology platform for electronic commerce according to claim 19; wherein the Logic Tier includes software modules adapted to perform: recognition of the user commands; execution of the user commands; editing of user retrieved information; and transfer of the user retrieved information to the computer of the Affiliate.
 22. The technology platform for electronic commerce according to claim 19; wherein the Data Tier includes software modules of a database and an operating system of said technology platform.
 23. The technology platform for electronic commerce according to claim 19; wherein in the Data Tier the computer programs and data are stored using at least one of the Relational Database Management System based on Structured Query Language (MySQL), Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC), Real Simple Syndication (RSS), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) data formats.
 24. The technology platform for electronic commerce according to claim 12; wherein the network is the Internet.
 25. A method for developing a website of an Affiliate selling online vendor products, comprising: (a) developing an interactive Platform Website providing the Affiliate with access to a Vendor Website and third-party sources of information of interest; (b) establishing a connection between a computer of the Affiliate and the Platform Website; (c) searching the Vendor Website and third-party sources for the information of interest using one or more keywords; (d) acquiring via the Platform Website and transferring to the computer of the Affiliate at least one of vendor website template designs, vendor product information, or a vendor content; (e) acquiring via the Platform Website and transferring to the computer of the Affiliate from the third-party sources at least one of third-party website template designs, third-party product information, or a third-party content; and (f) designing, editing, or updating a website of the Affiliate utilizing at least a portion of data transferred at the step (d) or step (e).
 26. The method for developing a website of an Affiliate selling online vendor products according to claim 25; wherein the step (a) further comprises: developing an electronic commerce software package including computer programs facilitating the Platform Website having access to resources for designing an Affiliate Website adapted for acquiring information related to vendor products and for selling online the vendor products; and storing the software package on the Platform Server coupled to a server of a network accessible by the computer of the Affiliate.
 27. The method for developing a website of an Affiliate selling online vendor products according to claim 26; wherein the network is the Internet.
 28. The method for developing a website of an Affiliate selling online vendor products according to claim 25; further comprising: adapting the website of the Affiliate for selling online products of other vendors.
 29. The method for developing a website of an Affiliate selling online vendor products according to claim 25; wherein the third-party sources are online public sources of information or online commercial sources of information.
 30. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to execute the method of claim
 25. 